Saudi air strike kills over 50 Houthi rebels in Yemen, top 10 developments

Yemen's capital Sana'a witnessed a Saudi-led military coalition air strike that killed dozens of Huthi rebels that included at least two commanders.

The Saudi air defences reportedly intercepted four missiles fired by Houthi rebels in the Jazan province earlier on Saturday. (Photo: Reuters)

Yemen’s capital Sana’a witnessed a Saudi-led military coalition air strike that killed dozens of Huthi rebels that included at least two commanders. According to a report by AFP, Saudi Arabia’s official Al-Ekhbariya television station reported that among more than 50 Huthi militiamen who were killed in Sanaa on Friday evening were two high-ranking insurgents, without giving any further details. Another Saudi owned television station, Al-Arabiya reported that a total of 38 rebels were killed in the strike on a Huthi interior ministry building. The Houthi have confirmed that an air strike on Sanaa took place but no further details were given.

Here are the top 10 developments about the Saudi air strike known so far-

1. The raid came hours ahead of a public funeral of the Huthis’ political head Saleh al-Sammad who was killed last week in a Saudi-led coalition strike.2. Saturday’s air strike came as newly-appointed US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was scheduled to land in Riyadh for meetings that included the talks on the Yemen conflict3. According to eyewitnesses and residents, the Saudi air strike targetted places such as the Najda camp, the Dailmi air base, the presidential palace, Jabal al-Nahdeen and its militia camps and other nearby areas in the Yemen capital.4. The Saudi air defences reportedly intercepted four missiles fired by Houthi rebels in the Jazan province earlier on Saturday. The Jazan province borders with Yemen in southern Saudi Arabia.5. Saudi Arabia has been forced to cut off air, sea and land links from its neighbor because of the continued missile attacks from Houthi rebels in Yemen.6. Saudi defence forces have also halted Yemen’s financial aids and food and fuel imports as well, as reported by IANS.7. The Huthis rebels that are backed by Iran have been locked in a war with the Saudi-led military alliance, which since 2015 has fought to restore the internationally-recognized Yemeni government to power, as repoted by AFP.8. The conflict going on in Yemen, is being wuidely seen as a proxy war between regional titans Iran and Saudi Arabia.9. The Huthis rebels control Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, as well as much of the country’s northern area, which borders Saudi Arabia, and the key Hodeida port on Yemen’s Red Sea coast.10. Ever since the Saudi-led alliance joined the Yemen conflict, nearly 10,000 people have been killed. This has triggered the United Nations to call this the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.